Three games into the 2022 season, Wayland Baptist football coach
Butch Henderson said the Pioneers are "making championship-level plays" and becoming the football team he wants them to become. The only drawback is that those things aren't happening with the frequency or at the pace Henderson would prefer.
"We're making championship-level plays. We just have to increase that as we go along. We made quite a few last week, but that has to be the majority of what we're making," Henderson said as the Pioneers prepare to host the Texas College Steers in a Sooner Athletic Conference contest at 2 p.m. Saturday at Greg Sherwood Memorial Bulldog Stadium.
Tickets – priced at $10 for adults and $5 for students (WBU students & faculty are admitted free with proper ID) – are available at the gate. Free streaming – starting with Dan Zeigler's pre-game show at 1:30 p.m. – is available at
www.wbuathletics.com/watch.
With their eyes on keeping Texas College (0-3, 0-2 SAC) the lone winless team in the conference, the Pioneers (1-2, 1-1) are hoping to continue their success against the Steers that's seen Wayland win the last seven meetings, including 38-18 last year in Tyler.
But under new head coach Jarrail Jackson, the Steers figure to look a lot different than in past seasons. A former standout receiver at the University of Oklahoma with roots in the Air Raid offense and coaches Hal Mumme and Mike Leach, Jackson has installed a pass-oriented attack.
"They have really good athletes. You go to sleep one time (on defense) and there's points on the board," said Henderson, who's been especially impressed with Steers quarterback Isaiah Sadler. "Especially considering the pressure he's been under, he's done a phenomenal job completing the ball. And their receivers are athletes, so that scares you."
Henderson said the key for the Pioneer defensive front will be maintaining pressure on Sadler while making sure the WBU secondary keeps the football in front of them.
"We have to keep enough heat on Sadler so he can't just sit there in the pocket and throw the football," the coach said.
Of Texas College's rushing game, Henderson said the run is "not a big part of what they do, but as soon as you ignore it…"
Both Texas College – which will be playing its third road game in the season's first month while Wayland plays its third at home – and Wayland Baptist have turned in similar outcomes against unbeaten Langston, which this week is ranked the equivalent of 32
nd in the NAIA. A week before the Pioneers fell last Saturday at Langston, 56-24, the Steers lost to the Lions at home, 55-24. On either side of that, Texas College suffered defeats to Arkansas Baptist (31-12) and Oklahoma-Panhandle State (53-6).
Henderson remains upbeat about the prospects for the Pioneers. Despite a lopsided loss against a solid Langston team last week, the coach said he "felt really good about us being able to move the football," is encouraged by a defense that played well but got burned trying to create turnovers, and is impressed with the kicking game, especially punter
Brayden Welch who is doing "a phenomenal job."
"We're building some threats and have some real positive things going."
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